THE JAMMED TRUE STORIES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING BLOG

The aim of this blog is to uncover and present TRUE STORIES of Human Trafficking and debt bondage in all its forms. We are seeking stories of victims "jammed" in slavery, of perpetrators of this crime, stories of efforts to help victims; of individuals moving to change policy, and stories of misguided efforts to help that have done further damage … in the hope that the telling of these personal stories will highlight the reality and complexity of this heinous practice, and shed light on the need for action on many fronts. Our vision is to finance this project through sponsorship and donations so that we can make the films freely available to everyone, everywhere for advocacy, campaigning, education and calls to action.

Following on from the feature film THE JAMMED we intend to select a series of stories from those posted on this blog, and produce a dramatised series of short stories

THE JAMMED is a feature film inspired by court transcripts about sex slavery and deportation in Australia - (www.thejammed.com). The number of women and children trafficked into sexual servitude (slavery) and debt bondage is impossible to quantify, but it is estimated that between 700,000 to 4 million people are trafficked around the world annually for sexual exploitation.

This is a call for your stories.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Sinister sleepover

Internal Trafficking often means little distance travelled and Sexual Assault to break down resistance may take place only blocks away from home.Shauna Newell was fortunate when she was abducted two years ago. Thanks to her mother and Klaas’ organization, which organized a search for her, she was rescued after three days. She’s gone public to warn other girls about how easy it is to be kidnapped and trafficked.

A typical 16-year-old in a middle-class home in suburban Pensacola, Fla., Newell’s nightmare began innocently enough: A new friend she had met in high school asked her to come to her home for a sleepover.

Newell’s mother, Lisa Brant, didn’t like the idea, but after weeks of lobbying by her daughter, Brant met with the girl and the man she said was her father to make sure her daughter would be safe.

But the girl’s “father” was really a convicted felon, and the girl, who had a record of prostitution in Texas, was an accomplice in the abduction. “Her dad took us to this house and said he'd be right back and he left us there,” Newell recounted in a taped interview. “And I asked for some water because I was thirsty. And I drank the water and I blacked out.”

The water had been laced with a drug. When she woke up, Newell was groggy and couldn’t move.

“My legs were being held down, and the guy that was raping me was holding my hands back,” she said in a quiet voice. “I kept screaming, ‘Stop, please don't do this. Leave me alone.’ But I was so weak, I couldn't fight them off. Like I was, I was so really out of it. And I blacked out a few times and I kept coming back to. And I was still being raped every time I woke up.”

Left alone for a moment, Newell managed to call her mother.

“My cell phone rang. And all I heard was, ‘Mommy, help me,’ ” Brant said. “And the phone went dead. And I freaked!”Lisa Brant, whose daughter, Shauna Newell, was abducted and gang-raped.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------She called police, but they told her that Newell had probably run away from home, and they wouldn’t be able to treat it as a missing-person case until 72 hours had elapsed.

A stroke of luckWith law enforcement unwilling to act, Brant and Newell’s siblings started their own search. They were fortunate in that Brad Dennis, an investigator for KlaasKids, was based in the area because the Florida Panhandle is an epicenter of human trafficking.

By sheer luck, one search party stopped at a convenience store for something to drink, and Newell’s 14-year-old brother spotted his sister in the back seat of another car that had stopped at the same store. She was rescued, but her abductors managed to flee.

After three days of being raped and beaten and drugged, Newell was dirty, bloody, bruised and barely alive. She was airlifted to a hospital and had to be resuscitated twice. In addition to her serious injuries, she had been infected with an STD.

Newell said that her captor told her she had been sold on the Internet for $300,000 to a man in Texas. Fortunately, she was rescued before delivery could be made. During Newell’s ordeal in Florida, her captor took money from a number of men who raped her. When she screamed, he held a gun to her head and threatened to blow her brains out. Afraid for her life, Newell later moved in with her boyfriend and now has a child of her own. Her family continues to lobby for national legislation that will provide aid for Americans forced into the sex trade similar to aid that is provided for girls and boys who are brought into the country and forced into prostitution.

Vieira asked Lisa Brant what advice she has for other girls.

“Listen to your parents. Just don’t stop believing. Be strong,” she said. “Follow what your parents say fully, fully. There are people out there who will help you. Speak up. Everybody needs to speak up. Girls that have gone through this, they’re scared.”

An in-depth report by Morales on “Sex Slaves in the Suburbs” premieres at 10 p.m. ET Sunday, Oct. 12 on MSNBC.For more information about the KlaasKids Foundation, visit klaaskids.org.Marc Klaas, whose KlaasKids Foundation works to stop crimes against children.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

16 comments:

I am also a victim of a similar kind of abduction/trafficking situation. Lucky for me, it was a one time thing. I will pray for her daughter and am very touched by her courage to come forward and talk about it. It lets me know that I am not the only one. Please let me know if there is anything I can do. I am a volunteer for the Not For Sale campaign, and I have started a human trafficking awareness organization here at the university I am attending. Thanks so much!

My daughter, a friend of her's and I were in a Shopping centre having lunch. Sitting next to us was an immaculately well dressed Asian lady in her 30's. Sometime later she approached us, clearly upset, needing someone to talk to. Like a hen to her chick we girls gathered around her, very concerned, in the hope we could offer some support. She told us her boyfriend had upset her because he had told their friends that she had just "lost her job." She asked us "what can I do?" & added "he is a nice guy."....(& I'm thinking this isn't really all that bad)During the conversation and out of nowhere, she asked "do the girls work" & told my daughter "oh you look like Lindsay Lohan." (there was much more)& I started to feel a little uneasy because now the conversation had steered from her and onto the girls and how good looking she thought they were.

She told us that she had only been in Australia 1yr and that she'd been in a relationship with her Canadian boyfriend the same length of time. She said that she had come from Singapore. When a comment was made that she had a good command of the English language, she said that she had a "Degree in linguistics"...hmm. Things were beginning to look a bit sussed as we thought she seemed to westernised to have just come fresh from her own country

In the end no.'s were exchanged and she invited us on a night out, she adding that she has no friends, & it would be nice to get to know us.

In hindsight the more we thought about this encounter the more uncomfortable we felt. If she tries to contact us we'll be on guard & there definitely won't be any girly "night out".....you just never know

I went to Doll House to get my dress and they promised they would get it in. I was so upset when they didn’t come through for me so I went Sassy Boutique. They were able to get my dress within three 3 days. They had wonderful customer service and nothing was a problem for them. I really appreciated the effort they made to make my night memorable. i will never go to dollhouse again.

This story is bs. I have worked for the Police in Pensacola for 26 years. We have NEVER refused to make a missing persons report until 72 hours later in the time that I have been there. Missing persons reports are taken immediately.

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